About The Artist

Hello! I am a fine arts painter, with a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. My primary painting medium is oil and alkyd, and mostly I work in a representational style. My greatest challenge as a painter is to capture the effect of light; and my greatest joy as a painter is to accomplish that. Many thanks to those readers who have been following this blog since Day 1 (May 19, 2008). To those who are visiting for the first time today...Welcome, and thanks for dropping by!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

If you're in the Albuquerque vicinity, please come by and say "Hello."

On display in my studio—for just this one evening—are several "Sunset Strip" paintings, daily paintings done in Florida and New Mexico, a selection from the "Sherd Series", and some Boogie Board drawings, too!

Sunday, February 24, 2013

With an average of 278 days of sunshine a year, it's not often that one wakes up to gray skies in Albuquerque.

So when I opened my eyes Thursday morning to soft diffuse light coming in the bedroom window, I knew there was some type of moisture in the air, and jumped out of bed to take a look.

When I saw the snow on the ground, I grabbed my camera and ran out in my pajamas to take a few quick photographs, knowing that by noon, the sun will most likely have melted our brief winter wonderland.

As an ex-Chicagoan, this is my favorite kind of snow: Lovely to look at, and no shovelling!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

I went out to plein air paint last Saturday—a beautiful clear sunny day in the 50's. No excuse not to go! I had all my gear ready, so out the door I went for a pleasant drive to the Sandia foothills on the east side of town.

I must admit that I suffer from the typical novice plein air painter's dilemma: I see too many details (which excite me) and try to cram all of the view into a little tiny panel, which is impossible to do in a 2-hour window of changing morning light.

Most plein air instructors encourage students to do a few quick preliminary thumbnail sketches to get down basic shapes, values, and composition. Since I am a slow painter and want to get going ASAP, I never want to take the time to do this. Well, it is a new year and I am trying to change my ways...

So I took along my Boogie Board thinking that, since it works fast, is limited to dark and light, and is about the same size as a painting panel, I would enjoy doing a preliminary sketch. And I did.

In fact, I got so absorbed in drawing the view in Bear Canyon on the Boogie Board that I never did get my paints out! (sigh) So today's post is my plein air drawing.